Six teenage members of the performance poetry collective Leeds Young Authors travel to Washington D.C. to compete in poetry contest Brave New Voices, where they must somehow stay true to their own complex, uniquely British poetry whilst grappling the 'he who shouts loudest' mode of the competition. Brimming with ideas and yes, with excellent poetry, each member of Leeds Young Authors has much to tell us all about being young, and living here and now. An inspirational film, and ample proof if it were ever needed that words can indeed uplift and change lives.
BHOPALI documents the experience of second generation children affected by the Union Carbide gas disaster of 1984, the worst industrial disaster in history, and subsequent contamination of groundwater by Union Carbide Corporation (an American company now owned by Dow Chemical, the second largest chemical company in the world). It follows several children as they and their families cope with the ongoing medical and social disaster, as well as their memories of that traumatizing night that shocked the world and changed Bhopal forever. Set against the backdrop of vehement protests for the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the Bhopalis continue to fight for justice, proving to be anything but victims. Set against a backdrop of high stakes activism, global politics, and human rights advocacy, this film explores the ongoing struggle for justice against Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible for the disaster. Featuring Noam Chomsky, Satinath Sarangi, and attorney Rajan Sharma.
Primal Scream's seminal album "Screamadelica" defined a generation. It's mix of rock, dance, dub, gospel and more caught the zeitgeist of the early nineties to perfection and it went on to win the inaugural Mercury Music Prize in 1992 and consistently be named as "Best Album Of The Nineties" and appear in numerous "All Time Best Albums" lists. This latest addition to the acclaimed Classic Albums series tells the story behind the making of this legendary album. There are contributions from all the band members, main producer Andrew Weatherall, Creation Records founder Alan McGee and many others involved in the creation of this masterpiece.
In his first feature film, director Bob Bowdon takes aim at America's public school system, revealing a self-serving network of wasteful cartels that squander funding and fail to deliver when it comes to academic testing and basic skills. Both parents and teachers want change, but reform is an uphill battle in the face of heel-digging bureaucrats and so-called "dropout factories." It's a bona fide crisis that's burgeoning out of control.
This warm 90 minutes documentary shows us unknown blues musicians from Mississippi. They play everywhere : on the streets, in dirty little bars, in a barber shop, in big clubs. The film really captures the true faces of blues and shows us that this music had nothing to do with nostalgia or record company hypes. Documentary on the Delta blues.
A Dutch family left Holland to transform a 400 year old monastery into a home, artist's workshop, and nature preserve. Filmed entirely in remote village in Portugal, Convento bends the rigid structure of documentary filmmaking, blurring the lines of information and surrealism Featuring the renowned kinetic artist Christiaan Zwanikken and his family.
When a young drug researcher is hired by a tobacco company, Victor DeNoble unexpectedly discovers the ingredients of addiction and fuels a national campaign to have it regulated.
Alexandra Pelosi's patriotic travelogue crisscrosses the U.S. to attend naturalization ceremonies in all 50 states and listens to recent immigrants from around the world explain their decision to become American citizens. The film is inspired by the naturalization process experienced by Pelosi's Dutch-born husband, Michiel Vos.
It follows Michael's life from joining Wham! in 1981, to the present-day covering his career as a solo artist including personal and professional gain and loss. The film is a British venture produced by Aegean Films with Gorilla Entertainment Limited serving as distributor.
From a basketball academy in Senegal, to the high-pressure world of American prep schools, the film documents the extraordinary personal journeys of four particularly tall West African Muslim teenage boys with NBA dreams.
Follows a Palestinian leader who unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter jumps into the fray.
The first half century of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation from its beginnings under Hungarian immigrant William Fox to it emergence as a major studio.
The unexplainable phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder has left landscapes of empty beehives all across the US, threatening not only the beekeeping industry but our food supply. As scientists and beekeepers search for the cause, Colony captures the struggle within the beekeeping community to save the honeybee and themselves. Colony documents a time of unprecedented crisis in the world of the honeybee through the eyes of both veteran beekeeper, David Mendes, and Lance and Victor Seppi, two young brothers getting into beekeeping when most are getting out. As Mendes tries to save the nation's collapsing hives, the Seppi's try to keep their business alive amidst a collapsing economy.
At the annual Vent Haven Convention in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, ventriloquism capital of the world, director Mark Goffman discovers five extraordinary characters straight out of a Christopher Guest mockumentary. But in this delightful, it's-all-true documentary, the characters are real, and so are the emotional attachments that they have with their "dummies."
50 Cent: Refuse to Die documents the early life and the subsequent successful career of the rap star 50 Cent. The documentary, by New Line Productions, showcases how the rapper lost none of his substantial street cred even as he began to socialize with the most famous people in the world. The film consists of interviews with people who knew him in his pre-fame days, as well as those who were with him when he began to see the rewards of his music career. This film was released to video the day before 50 Cent's biopic Get Rich or Die Tryin' opened in theaters.
Explores and examines the world of ventriloquism through clips, photos and interviews with many of the greatest vents from today and yesterday, illustrating that this perceived novelty act is truly an extraordinary art form.
Filmed and directed by the Iraqis themselves -- thousands of them, from all walks of life, all over their country. The producers, who distributed more than 150 digital video cameras across the country, condensed more than 400 hours of footage into an unprecedented, and startling, look at life in a war zone. It's a new genre of filmmaking.
Race to Nowhere is a film containing stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their children.